From 1914 to his death in 1945 , Gates was the pastor of Mount Calvary Baptist Church in Rock Dale Park, Atlanta, Georgia. He had a very prolific recording career, recording over 200 sides between 1926 and 1941, including frequent rerecordings. Experts estimate that at least a quarter of all sermons commercially released on record before 1943 were recorded by Gates.

Many of his recordings were strong warnings of the hellish punishments that awaited sinners – his first best-seller, 1926’s “Death’s Black Train Is Coming”, sold 35,000 copies by the end of its release year.

Gates is credited with introducing the gospel music of former blues artist Thomas A. Dorsey into the black gospel market via his crusades. His funeral drew the largest crowd of any memorial service in the city before Martin Luther King, Jr